Atelier des Lumières

L'Atelier des Lumières offers immersive
sight-and-sound exhibitions in a former Parisian foundry. It's a delightful
experience for adults and children alike.

ABOVE: Visitors stand or sit along the walls
during a
Gustav Klimt show at L'Atelier des Lumières.

In April, 2018, the
Atelier des Lumières ("Studio of Light") opened
in Paris. The arts space, located in a repurposed 19th Century foundry, uses 120
digital projectors and 50 strategically-placed speakers to present immersive
exhibitions based on the works of famous artists from the past and today's
digital creators.

We
attended the opening exhibition, which included three programs: Gustav Klimt,
Hundertwasser: In the Wake of the Viennese Succession, and Poetic_AI. The first
two programs incorporated paintings by two celebrated Viennese artists of the
late 19th and early 20th Centuries, while the latter was a short work that was
generated by an AI (artificial intelligence) algorithm.

What to expect:

When you arrive at the Atelier, you'll either buy tickets
or proceed past the ticket counter to the auditiorium's entrance, where you'll
hold your printed ticket or a PDF ticket on your smartphone against a scanner.

Once you're admitted, you'll go through an airlock-style set of doors into the
darkened interior, where the programs run continuously throughout the day and
evening.

Although your ticket will specify an entry time, you can stay as long
as you wish. We spent about an hour and a half inside the auditorium, watching
each program twice.

The auditorium is simply a large space, with a handful of
jogs and circles plus a staircase that leads up to a mezzanine. You can walk
around, sit on the floor, or lie down if you'd like. We even saw a
small group of elementary-school girls dance as they crossed the room.

The video
projection moves around the walls and floors, so you'll see each program in its
entirety regardless of where you wander.

Upstairs, there's a bar (which was closed during our visit) and
a mezzanine overlook with seating along the edge. You'll also see a couple of pools from the
old foundry, with projections in the water.

Reservations and tickets:

The Atelier des Lumières is open seven days a week, with
performances from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
on Fridays and Saturdays. (The ticket office closes one hour earlier.)

You can buy tickets at the door, but because only a
certain number of tickets are available for each 30-minute admission time, we suggest
buying tickets in advance at the Atelier des
Lumières Web site.
This is especially important if you plan a visit on the weekend, when the ticket
office is closed altogether.

On the Atelier's Web site, click "Your Visit"
and select "Tickets
Online." You'll be able to see how many tickets are available for each
performance.

Once you have your tickets in PDF format, you can print
them out or save on your smartphone for scanning at the venue.

Reaching the Atelier des Lumières:

The Atelier is at 38 Rue Saint-Maur in the 11th arrondissement, near three Métro stops and
four bus lines. For more information, see "Getting to the Atelier des Lumières"
on the official Web site's
Practical Information page.

More photos:

BELOW: The Atelier des Lumières is on the Rue Saint-Maur, a few blocks south of
the Avenue de la République and west of the Père Lachaise Cemetery in the 11th
arrondissement.

BELOW: The Atelier's lobby has labels (in French and
English) about the current shows and the history of the foundry, which opened in
1835. You'll also find toilets down the hall.

BELOW: Girders, pools, and other structural elements from La
Fonderie du Chemin-Vert are incorporated into the performance space.

BELOW: The most ambitious of the Atelier's opening works was
Gustav Klimt. (April 13 - November 11, 2018.)

BELOW: A visitor took photos during Poetic_AI, a
contemporary creation. (April 13 - August 31, 2018.)

You're welcome to shoot pictures and video with your camera
or smartphone, but flash is forbidden.

BELOW: Hundertwasser, in the Wake of the Vienna Succession
was another program in the Atelier's opening exhibition.

BELOW: After the performance, be sure to visit the
Atelier's bookstore and gift shop. (We wished they'd sold the leather foundry
aprons worn by the staff.)